What are some economy front Big Brake Upgrade options?

[FishFreak]

Yeah most BBKs except Wilwood and Alcon require 18-20” wheels with the Brembo 8 pot requiring 22s.

But id highly recommend the wilwoods over a standard rotor/pad swap.

I will go that way, Wilwoods, if I find I lack braking power towing down those long steep-assed grades that fried my other 1/2 ton truck brakes. Meanwhile, I've got a fishing and skiing habit to support !!

 

[FishFreak]

I know this is an economy brake upgrade thread, however, everyone has a different idea of 'economy', so I'm including this one for discussion. I found this 14" Baer big brake kit that is said to fit under 17" wheels. Other bbk's need bigger wheels so this is a good option for those with thicker wallets and small wheels. Oem gen 1 rotors are 13.78", so these are approx 1/4" bigger, however, the rotors are two piece with an aluminum hat, so they'll lower unsprung mass for those weight-watchers ! Visit Westside Offroad Group for more info.

 

[vtwinjunkie]

Does anyone know if these kits come with front and rear brakes?

I was looking at the wilwood kit linked earlier and it doesn’t say in the description.

I’d assume it does but I’d like clarity

 

[btkeenan]

Does anyone know if these kits come with front and rear brakes?

I was looking at the wilwood kit linked earlier and it doesn’t say in the description.

I’d assume it does but I’d like clarity

I suppose it depends where you buy the kit from, some resellers will package it as a whole vehicle kit vs axle specific. Wilwood is pretty clear on their site on what's included (calipers, discs, pads, lines and associated hardware) and they currently only have fronts available that are direct fitment with OEM 17" wheels (140-16807) with a rumored rear kit in the works.

I know this is an economy brake upgrade thread, however, everyone has a different idea of 'economy', so I'm including this one for discussion. I found this 14" Baer big brake kit that is said to fit under 17" wheels. Other bbk's need bigger wheels so this is a good option for those with thicker wallets and small wheels. Oem gen 1 rotors are 13.78", so these are approx 1/4" bigger, however, the rotors are two piece with an aluminum hat, so they'll lower unsprung mass for those weight-watchers ! Visit Westside Offroad Group for more info.

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Good to see Baer is making a wilwood "competitor". Their products are legit and James @ WOG can definitely hook it up.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

I know this is an economy brake upgrade thread, however, everyone has a different idea of 'economy', so I'm including this one for discussion. I found this 14" Baer big brake kit that is said to fit under 17" wheels. Other bbk's need bigger wheels so this is a good option for those with thicker wallets and small wheels. Oem gen 1 rotors are 13.78", so these are approx 1/4" bigger, however, the rotors are two piece with an aluminum hat, so they'll lower unsprung mass for those weight-watchers ! Visit Westside Offroad Group for more info.

View attachment 483514

i avoided this thread because i thought "oh great, anther brake thread" but reading your first post, although i may be too late to the party, i thought i should ask. if only wanting brakes for towing, why not add brakes to your trailer? a new axle with brakes will be about $1500 or less usually. spend a couple hours wiring up the 7pin and then you have way more stopping power than any brake upgrade kit could give you. just a thought since you only wanted it for towing...... i didnt read all 6 pages though, so it may have been addressed already

 

[FishFreak]

i avoided this thread because i thought "oh great, anther brake thread" but reading your first post, although i may be too late to the party, i thought i should ask. if only wanting brakes for towing, why not add brakes to your trailer? a new axle with brakes will be about $1500 or less usually. spend a couple hours wiring up the 7pin and then you have way more stopping power than any brake upgrade kit could give you. just a thought since you only wanted it for towing...... i didnt read all 6 pages though, so it may have been addressed already

You should never avoid a thread CSC, your input is always welcome! My boat trailer has disc surge brakes, which I've gone through already, and they work well, but on long steep grades, those too will fade and the onus is on the truck.

I bought my SCREW used, with 132k miles, and the front rotors were deeply grooved, plenty of pad, so I suspect the last few brake jobs were just pad swaps. Then came a time when I had to do a pretty high-speed stop, and I could clearly feel the brakes fading, and the pedal getting softer, like brake fluid boil. So one of the next orders of business will be to upgrade my front brakes. I've got a hard time replacing critical parts like this with Auto Zone off-the-shelf parts, and I dream of a forum user reporting that a certain set of JY brembos or 6 pistons off a mustang will fit ours with a cnc'ed bracket. Heck I search these kinda upgrades for all my cars....

 

[Nex]

You should never avoid a thread CSC, your input is always welcome! My boat trailer has disc surge brakes, which I've gone through already, and they work well, but on long steep grades, those too will fade and the onus is on the truck.

I bought my SCREW used, with 132k miles, and the front rotors were deeply grooved, plenty of pad, so I suspect the last few brake jobs were just pad swaps. Then came a time when I had to do a pretty high-speed stop, and I could clearly feel the brakes fading, and the pedal getting softer, like brake fluid boil. So one of the next orders of business will be to upgrade my front brakes. I've got a hard time replacing critical parts like this with Auto Zone off-the-shelf parts, and I dream of a forum user reporting that a certain set of JY brembos or 6 pistons off a mustang will fit ours with a cnc'ed bracket. Heck I search these kinda upgrades for all my cars....

When was the last time you did a brake fluid flush?

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

You should never avoid a thread CSC, your input is always welcome! My boat trailer has disc surge brakes, which I've gone through already, and they work well, but on long steep grades, those too will fade and the onus is on the truck.

I bought my SCREW used, with 132k miles, and the front rotors were deeply grooved, plenty of pad, so I suspect the last few brake jobs were just pad swaps. Then came a time when I had to do a pretty high-speed stop, and I could clearly feel the brakes fading, and the pedal getting softer, like brake fluid boil. So one of the next orders of business will be to upgrade my front brakes. I've got a hard time replacing critical parts like this with Auto Zone off-the-shelf parts, and I dream of a forum user reporting that a certain set of JY brembos or 6 pistons off a mustang will fit ours with a cnc'ed bracket. Heck I search these kinda upgrades for all my cars....

i would ditch the surge brakes. those arent as good as the drum brakes. plus the constant clunking when moving or stopping. however long grades are your enemy regardless of which brakes. another thought would be to put the truck in manual mode and gear down.

 

[FishFreak]

When was the last time you did a brake fluid flush?

I've never flushed the fluid, bought this 2014 9k miles ago at 132k, and knowing MOST owners, they never flush em, but I'm right there with ya, I know it absorbs water and will literally steam under hard braking. I've had experience with wet brake fluid in a motorcycle, and it caused a crash that really hurt !! I should flush the brake fluid TONIGHT, never mind I need brakes sometime in the next 30 days....

i would ditch the surge brakes. those arent as good as the drum brakes. plus the constant clunking when moving or stopping. however long grades are your enemy regardless of which brakes. another thought would be to put the truck in manual mode and gear down.

Reverting to some kind of electric drum brakes would be very impractical and I don't think it would help. I would describe my disc surge brakes as 'very good to outstanding', and when I brake hard I can feel the trailer slowing me down, no question they're working. It's a boat trailer, and I remember about 35 years ago my boat trailer had drum brakes and they wouldn't work for quite some time after being wet, pulling the boat out of the water AAND you had to manually adjust them because they lock out when reversing so auto-adjusters don't work. PITA. My last 9 boats all had disc surge brakes that worked great when maintained. The clunking when moving or stopping is an indication that A. your shock absorbing piston inside the surge assembly needs replacement or B. your surge brakes need bleeding.

You're right, downshifting is the only option on a loooong downhill, however, can our 6R80's handle that? My last truck was a Duramax with Allison 1000 and it braked downhill on it's own incredibly well, with no exhaust brake. This is my first 6R80.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

I've never flushed the fluid, bought this 2014 9k miles ago at 132k, and knowing MOST owners, they never flush em, but I'm right there with ya, I know it absorbs water and will literally steam under hard braking. I've had experience with wet brake fluid in a motorcycle, and it caused a crash that really hurt !! I should flush the brake fluid TONIGHT, never mind I need brakes sometime in the next 30 days....



Reverting to some kind of electric drum brakes would be very impractical and I don't think it would help. I would describe my disc surge brakes as 'very good to outstanding', and when I brake hard I can feel the trailer slowing me down, no question they're working. It's a boat trailer, and I remember about 35 years ago my boat trailer had drum brakes and they wouldn't work for quite some time after being wet, pulling the boat out of the water AAND you had to manually adjust them because they lock out when reversing so auto-adjusters don't work. PITA. My last 9 boats all had disc surge brakes that worked great when maintained. The clunking when moving or stopping is an indication that A. your shock absorbing piston inside the surge assembly needs replacement or B. your surge brakes need bleeding.

You're right, downshifting is the only option on a loooong downhill, however, can our 6R80's handle that? My last truck was a Duramax with Allison 1000 and it braked downhill on it's own incredibly well, with no exhaust brake. This is my first 6R80.

down shifting will reduce the amount on stress on the brakes. a combination of both should slow you down. surge brakes require your vehicle to move slower than your trailer to work properly. meaning you are always slowing down the trailer to a certain extent. so its basically additional weight on your truck to slow down. there are no adjustments you can make. electric drum brakes can slow you down by using the controller on the dash to apply the brakes. plus with the gain adjustment you can determine how much brake force they will have. proper burnishing of the brakes is very important though. i doubt most people know how to do it. theres 2 ways to burnish your drum brakes and if not done/not done correctly your braking force/ability will be reduced.